Eucalyptus clears congestion
Jan 03, 2006
Most Ugandans who experience nasal blockage continue to suffer silently because of ignorance. <br>They believe that once you have this condition, it is hereditary and nothing can be done about it. All you have to do is to learn to live with it.
By Jjukko Ndawula
Most Ugandans who experience nasal blockage continue to suffer silently because of ignorance.
They believe that once you have this condition, it is hereditary and nothing can be done about it. All you have to do is to learn to live with it.
Worse still, some doctors misdiagnose this condition as an allergy that one outgrows with age. Many children who suffer from this disease live and grow with it, making it more difficult to manage in adulthood.
If sinus congestion is not managed, it may lead to other complications like cervical adenitis, otitis media, bronchitis, broncho pneumonia, chronic asthma, asteomylitis, etc, which are difficult to handle. Seek professional assistance for nasal congestion before it gets out of hand.
Symptoms and signs
You may get a chronic or recurrent headache. It is important to note the location of the headache because it suggests the sinus or sinuses most involved.
Headache around the forehead and supra orbital region may signify frontal sinusitis. Maxillary sinusitis affects upper teeth or cheeks, spheroid involvement causes pain in occipital region, root of nose, behind eyes or in neck.
Other symptoms are nasal and post nasal discharge, pain, toothache and dizziness.
Managing nasal congestion
For proper diagnosis, identify a good ENT specialist for professional advice. For those patients, who are subjected to X-ray of the sinuses, the results are not infallible since the fluid or thickened mucosa membrane (especially due to allergy) cannot be differentiated by this means.
Other native diagnostic techniques like hand scanning, manipulation and elimination methods need to be used. Decongestants are usually prescribed for people with nasal blockage.
These drugs reduce the swelling of the mucosa membranes and suppress the production of mucus, helping to clear blocked nasal passages and sinuses. Antistamines counter the allergic response in allergy-related conditions and, if symptoms persist, corticosteriods or sodium cromoglycate are used. However, these medicines should only be prescribed by a physician.
But decongestants are not the best means of managing nasal blockage. Alternative medicine is often effective and efficacious. Decongestants should be used when alternative measures are ineffective or when there is a particular risk from untreated congestion, for example in people who suffer from recurrent middle ear or sinus infections. This is because topical decongestants in form of drops or sprays, when used for too long or in excess, can do more harm than good, causing a “rebound congestionâ€. Rebound congestion means sudden increase in congestion due to widening of the blood vessels in the nasal lining because blood vessels are no longer constricted by decongestants.
Operation is not also the best alternative. It should be done after the possible alternatives are exhausted.
Alternative medicine
The herbal mixture of eucalyptus and mullein as the active ingredients is probably the most effective against congestion. The brew should be taken as a tea and vapour inhaled as the simmering herb. Eucalyptus and millein contains a piquant essence that facilitates removal of excess mucus. The aroma has curative vapour. These two species have been used from time immemorial and are known to have no side effects if used properly.
The writer is a medical consultant in
alternative medicine
Most Ugandans who experience nasal blockage continue to suffer silently because of ignorance.
They believe that once you have this condition, it is hereditary and nothing can be done about it. All you have to do is to learn to live with it.
Worse still, some doctors misdiagnose this condition as an allergy that one outgrows with age. Many children who suffer from this disease live and grow with it, making it more difficult to manage in adulthood.
If sinus congestion is not managed, it may lead to other complications like cervical adenitis, otitis media, bronchitis, broncho pneumonia, chronic asthma, asteomylitis, etc, which are difficult to handle. Seek professional assistance for nasal congestion before it gets out of hand.
Symptoms and signs
You may get a chronic or recurrent headache. It is important to note the location of the headache because it suggests the sinus or sinuses most involved.
Headache around the forehead and supra orbital region may signify frontal sinusitis. Maxillary sinusitis affects upper teeth or cheeks, spheroid involvement causes pain in occipital region, root of nose, behind eyes or in neck.
Other symptoms are nasal and post nasal discharge, pain, toothache and dizziness.
Managing nasal congestion
For proper diagnosis, identify a good ENT specialist for professional advice. For those patients, who are subjected to X-ray of the sinuses, the results are not infallible since the fluid or thickened mucosa membrane (especially due to allergy) cannot be differentiated by this means.
Other native diagnostic techniques like hand scanning, manipulation and elimination methods need to be used. Decongestants are usually prescribed for people with nasal blockage.
These drugs reduce the swelling of the mucosa membranes and suppress the production of mucus, helping to clear blocked nasal passages and sinuses. Antistamines counter the allergic response in allergy-related conditions and, if symptoms persist, corticosteriods or sodium cromoglycate are used. However, these medicines should only be prescribed by a physician.
But decongestants are not the best means of managing nasal blockage. Alternative medicine is often effective and efficacious. Decongestants should be used when alternative measures are ineffective or when there is a particular risk from untreated congestion, for example in people who suffer from recurrent middle ear or sinus infections. This is because topical decongestants in form of drops or sprays, when used for too long or in excess, can do more harm than good, causing a “rebound congestionâ€. Rebound congestion means sudden increase in congestion due to widening of the blood vessels in the nasal lining because blood vessels are no longer constricted by decongestants.
Operation is not also the best alternative. It should be done after the possible alternatives are exhausted.
Alternative medicine
The herbal mixture of eucalyptus and mullein as the active ingredients is probably the most effective against congestion. The brew should be taken as a tea and vapour inhaled as the simmering herb. Eucalyptus and millein contains a piquant essence that facilitates removal of excess mucus. The aroma has curative vapour. These two species have been used from time immemorial and are known to have no side effects if used properly.
The writer is a medical consultant in
alternative medicine